


artistic ambitions and aimless afternoons

by chivalrousamour



Series: modern au/youtube au collection lol??? [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21594181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chivalrousamour/pseuds/chivalrousamour
Summary: On a scale from 'peacefully drawing with no interruptions' to 'suddenly having someone sneak up on you and ask what you're doing while you're drawing something really embarrassing,' 'suddenly the thing you thought was a moss-covered rock was actually a napping person's head and he's awake and sitting up and staring at you' is an outlier far, far outside Ignatz's comfort zone.The stranger, however, seems to feel no such discomfort."What time is it?" the napping man asks, before yawning loudly.Ignatz fumbles with his pocket, almost dropping his sketchpad in his haste to pull out his phone."Um, i...it's... about 2:46..." Ignatz answers awkwardly."Ah, so there's about fifteen minutes before my class. Good night."(Ignatz has no idea who the hell this guy is, or why this guy is napping in a leaf pile, or why he keeps returning to the place he found the weird napping dude.)
Relationships: Linhardt von Hevring/Ignatz Victor
Series: modern au/youtube au collection lol??? [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553266
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	artistic ambitions and aimless afternoons

**Author's Note:**

> BECAUSE LYSITHEA IS BABY SHES NOT IN COLLEGE YET

The first time they met, Ignatz swears he had a heart attack.

Ignatz had been drawing, setting up a base for himself amidst green-leafed trees, dirt pathways, and piles of leaves. He had been sketching details of the various plans around him, when suddenly, he heard the sound of something moving.

 _'Oh no. I'm in a forest, aren't I? I'm alone, in a forest, with nothing but art supplies! I'm going to die!'_ Ignatz thought, right before the sound turned out to be a guy rolling off of a leaf pile and sitting up.

On a scale from _'peacefully drawing with no interruptions_ ' to ' _suddenly having someone sneak up on you and ask what you're doing while you're drawing something really embarrassing,'_ _'suddenly the thing you thought was a moss-covered rock was actually a napping person's head and he's awake and sitting up and staring at you'_ is an outlier far, far outside Ignatz's comfort zone.

The stranger, however, seems to feel no such discomfort.

"What time is it?" the napping man asks, before yawning loudly.

Ignatz fumbles with his pocket, almost dropping his sketchpad in his haste to pull out his phone.

"Um, i...it's... about 2:46..." Ignatz answers awkwardly.

"Ah, so there's about fifteen minutes before my class. Good night."

"W-wait, are you going back to sleep?! Why are you even napping here?!" Ignatz demands, making the sleepy stranger give him a side eye.

"Well, Garreg Mach is blessed with lovely scenery, so it'd be a shame to not appreciate it."

"You're just sleeping, aren't you?!"

"Is napping outside not a way of enjoying the sunlight? Is letting the wind carry you to a land of slumber not a way of enjoying what nature can give us?"

Ignatz legitimately doesn't know how to react to that, so he just checks his sketchpad.

"Dammit... smudged it a little," he mutters to himself unconsciously.

He wonders whether or not he could still salvage the sketch, when he notices the sleepy stranger staring.

"Wh-what is it?!" Ignatz asks defensively.

"Do you often draw scenery?"

"Um, yes...?"

"In--" another yawn interrupts what he was going to say, "intriguing."

"O...okay," Ignatz replies, right before the other boy tries to go back to sleep in the leaf pile. 

"Don't you have to go to class?!"

"Theoretically."

Ignatz is at a complete loss for words, so he just settles for lifting the nap-loving boy out of the leaf pile and attempting to drag him to the school building.

Unfortunately, people see him dragging what appears to be a corpse out of the woods. Even as he tries to explain, his reputation as an innocent murderer persists...

* * *

Ignatz doesn't know why the hell he goes back to that forest, but he does. And he isn't at all as surprised as he thought he'd be when he finds that same green-haired stranger leaning against a tree, fast asleep.

He thinks to himself that he should just leave the guy there. That way, Claude can't make more teasing remarks about Ignatz murdering people if he gets mad. 

But.

If he leaves, then the stranger would be alone in a forest. If there _were_ some murdering people hanging out in the forest, or some thieves, then this guy would be completely defenceless.

Letting out a sigh, Ignatz sits next to him, opening up his sketchpad and starting to draw.

There's an incredible atmosphere in a quiet forest, dim light shining through the leaves above. Before long, Ignatz gets lost in his sketch, a simple drawing of a tree becoming a forest before his eyes.

Cross-hatching or ink, Ignatz is in the middle of pondering, when, while turning to grab more supplies from his bag--

His eyes meet the gaze of the supposedly sleeping stranger next to him.

"Eyarrgha?!" Ignatz screams, his grip tightening on the paper. "You're awake?!"

"Yes, as you can plainly tell," comes the reply.

Ignatz lets out a shuddering breath, before realizing that he's crumpling his sketch. Smoothing it out carefully, he says, "well, er... good... afternoon?"

There's no instant reply. Ignatz feels a bit awkward, before the stranger asks, "are you not going to continue drawing?"

"Um, I thought that, since you're awake, I would leave you in peace."

"You don't have to."

There's something compelling in the other boy's eyes, something that tells Ignatz not to go too soon.

So Ignatz breathes in deeply, grabs his pencil, and starts to draw. 

It's nerve-wracking, really, the fact that he knows he's being watched. He wonders if he's being judged, he knows it's not his best work, he feels like, any second, his shaking hand will ruin everything, but...

Glancing over at the other boy, Ignatz sees an expression of uncharacteristic focus on his face. Instead of being appraised, it's more like a specimen in a science lab. He can practically see the notes being taken on his technique.

Blushing, Ignatz sets aside his pencil. It's enough for now, he tells himself. He'll continue... later. 

"Fascinating," is all the other boy says. 

"Thank you..."

"Well, if you're done, I'll go back to sleep."

"Wait," Ignatz says quickly, "do you have any classes soon?"

"...what time is it?"

Ignatz checks his phone.

"It's five in the afternoon."

"Oh, I definitely missed the first half hour of my biology course. Should I just skip the rest of it, then, I wonder...?" 

"No!" Ignatz answers anxiously. "J-just set an alarm when you nap so you don't miss classes!"

"Ah, I see... that was a potential solution this entire time..."

Ignatz gets the feeling that he got mixed up with someone very strange as the other boy leisurely gets up.

"Hm... I forgot to bring my notebook. Oh well."

"J-just use this!" Ignatz screams, impulsively ripping a few empty pages from his sketchbook and handing it to the other boy.

The sleepy stranger's only reaction is a confused stare at first. Just as Ignatz is about to retract his hand, the other boy takes the papers.

"If you insist."

(Ignatz immediately regrets his decision to sacrifice a few pages of his scrapbook paper, but concludes that he would regret not helping out more.)

* * *

Ignatz is not surprised to find the green-haired weirdo in the forest again.

The more surprising thing is that, the next time they meet, the other boy is actually awake.

Before Ignatz can even comment on this strange phenomenon, a piece of paper is shoved into his hand.

"I didn't use all of them, so I figured I ought to return this," is the explanation he receives.

Ignatz doesn't know how to explain to the other boy that it's just a piece of paper at this point, and it's not like he's going to tape the paper back to his sketchbook or anything.

Instead, Ignatz decides to ask, "do you want to learn how to draw?"

The sleepy stranger actually looks surprised by the question.

"Er, not implying that you... don't know how to draw. Actually, you might be better at drawing than me... I shouldn't have assumed...!"

"I've never used a pencil for anything but notes before. Is there a special technique you use?"

Ignatz pauses.

"Well, um, you can use a lot of different techniques together. Make your own style," he says. "Or... that's what I heard."

Truth be told, Ignatz has struggles with feeling like he could be proud of his work, even if he knows, on some level, that he has a certain amount of skill and experience.

"I don't have any interest in learning how to use these techniques," the other boy says bluntly. "But I want to hear you talk about art."

So Ignatz flips through the pages of his sketchbook, talking about the different ways he put together the pieces.

Explaining how he layered textures here, how he shaded this bit there, eventually, Ignatz starts gushing about what he's tried and practiced.

The empty page becomes a collection of examples. A corner for cross-hatching, a quick doodle of the concept behind perspective, a squiggle that was supposed to be an example of varying line art pressure before he poked the pencil through the paper...

Ignatz doesn't notice it, but he actually relaxes around the other boy for the first time.

Eventually, though, he runs out of time.

A phone alarm blares through the area, stunning Ignatz.

"Drat, I've got a class on the history of the Church," the other boy says irritably. "Even though this was so interesting..."

Ignatz checks his own phone, eyes widening at the time. 

"Oh no! I've got to get to class too!" he exclaims.

"Oh? What class?"

"Religious history with Professor Seteth," Ignatz replies.

"The same one... should we go together?"

"If you don't mind!" Ignatz exclaims quickly.

He gathers up his things quickly, and they start walking out of the forest.

"Are you an art major?" 

"Ahhh, no, I'm actually in business. I'm aiming to help with my family business."

"I see."

"What about you?" Ignatz asks.

"Undecided major, as of yet."

They reach their class early, and the entire time, Ignatz takes notes dutifully. 

So dutifully, in fact, that he doesn't notice a pair of curious blue eyes on him.

* * *

As they leave class, Ignatz rushes to the other boy's side, hurriedly saying, "a-and, um, wait. What's your name?"

"Linhardt," is the answer he receives. "Yours?"

"Ignatz."

"A pleasure meeting you," Linhardt says, his lips twitching into the first smile Ignatz has seen from him.

"Y-you too!"

* * *

Somehow, oddly enough, they start hanging out in places aside from the forest. The benches outside the cafeteria. The seats in the entrance hall. The dormitory's common room.

But it's only when they're in the forest together that Ignatz can really feel comfortable drawing.

Linhardt asks him about it, once.

"It's more... comfortable here," is the answer he receives. "In other places, people could walk in and see, plus, here, I can use what I see as a reference."

Linhardt feels like he can understand that, when Ignatz says something else.

"And, well, it's comfortable when you're around."

"Huh?"

"I don't really know what to do when people say things like _'oh you're so good! I can't even draw a stick figure'_ or _'can you draw me?'_ or anything... it makes it awkward for me to draw around people who are going to say things like that. But you didn't say anything like that and let me show you, so... I'm grateful for that."

His words are awkward and stilted, but they still make Linhardt smile, just the smallest bit.

"I'm glad for that," Linhardt says.

"Um, Linhardt, is there anything you like to do?"

"Nap."

Ignatz pauses, and Linhardt knows that wasn't the answer the bespectacled boy was looking for.

"I suppose I like studying," Linhardt says. "Though, my motivation is a mysterious thing."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Linhardt pauses to think, before deciding on an example.

"I once tweaked a remote-controlled car to get it to drive at about the same speed as a normal car after getting curious about the mechanics. Then I was offered an internship at a drone factory, but it was such a pain that I completely lost interest in the subject."

Ignatz still looks baffled, so Linhardt adds the story of how he got invested in being a doctor for all of two hours before realizing how much blood would be involved, then the story of his sudden descent into fighting game trivia, then his incredible love of podcasts, then the time he accidentally solved a supposedly unsolvable math equation...

"Either I have no interest in any subject at all, or it will consume my every waking moment," Linhardt summarizes. "Because of that, I have difficulties imagining that I'll be able to devote myself to any one field here."

Ignatz looks troubled, but before he can say something, Linhardt decides to extract himself from the situation.

"Well, that was a satisfying discussion. Though, it wore me out, so if you'll excuse me, I'll go to sleep now."

"...oh, okay," comes Ignatz's reply. "Rest well."

(Though Linhardt doesn't know it, in his sleep, his head fell on Ignatz's shoulder.)

* * *

"How did you become interested in art?" Linhardt asks as they walk back to the school building together. 

"O-oh, uh, well... I went to church with my family when I was child, and I was amazed by the beautiful murals and stained glass windows," Ignatz tells him. "I was so entranced that I didn't even pay attention to what the pastor was saying at all..."

Linhardt wonders if his fleeting passions could even be compared to such a long-lasting love as Ignatz talks.

"Even though I say that, it's really nothing more than a hobby. I have to place my family first, after all."

"Is that so?" Linhardt asks. "Will that make you happy?"

Ignatz's expression shifts. Linhardt wonders if he said something wrong.

"Well... college is for taking the time to discover your future, so... I suppose it's fine if it takes some time to readjust and find out what the future holds."

And Linhardt pauses.

Completely unaware that Ignatz meant this as a half-assed excuse to avoid the topic, Linhardt realizes that hey, he can figure out what he wants to do at his own pace.

* * *

There's a certain stare that Linhardt reserves for the artistic boy after that. It's gotten to the point that Caspar teases him about his crush, that Ignatz starts blushing whenever he notices Linhardt's gaze.

It's a strange and curious feeling that Linhardt doesn't quite know what to do with at all. 

He decides the answer is to sleep on the matter. 

The only thing this accomplishes is a making him dream of going to a palace made of clouds with Ignatz.

Oh bother.

* * *

Linhardt wakes up against a tree with thoughts of setting suns and white clouds.

Barely aware of the world, he blinks to make sense of the blurry sight before him.

It looks like a blushing Ignatz to him.

"U-um, eh, errrr..."

Oh, correction. It _is_ a blushing Ignatz, clutching his sketchbook to his chest.

"G-" Linhardt cuts himself off with a yawn, "good morning. Did you draw something good?"

Ignatz's reaction is just to stutter and shake, so Linhardt leans over to look.

He only catches a glance of the sketch before Ignatz jumps away, but even upside down, Linhardt thinks he can recognize his own figure.

Linhardt doesn't even register this as weird. He just thinks that it's wonderful that he could contribute to his friend's artistic endeavours.

But Ignatz does think it's weird, and apologizes profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just, my eyes follow you and even though I've tried to not have this weird maybe art crush on you I think I sorta kinda do and so I drew it even though it's weird and do you want me to leave you alone forever? I can do that if you want me to!"

"No, I don't want that," Linhardt replies easily, because that was like, one of two things he picked out of that rambling mess. The other thing is, "so, you also stare at me often?"

"Um... y-yes?"

"Do you experience heart tremors during this? Wish to spend more time together? Desire for physical contact?"

Ignatz is baffled, but he nods through each one anyways.

"How curious. It seems we share the same feelings," Linhardt mutters. "Would it be possible for me to study this phenomenon...?"

"Linhardt?"

"I wonder... if our time together is increased... heart rate monitors will be necessary... perhaps a Fitbit... and measuring the amount of time spent engaging in physical contact..."

"Linhardt, what are you talking about?"

"Hm... interesting. I'll need to investigate this in greater depth."

Ignatz is still confused when Linhardt remembers that the artist is in possession of ears that could hear him, so Linhardt returns to addressing him.

 _'What was it called again? Dating?'_ Linhardt thinks. _'How strange... even though it's for science, I'm feeling rather nervous about this...'_

"Will you be my boyfriend for research purposes?" is how his proposition comes out. "I would like to probe into the feelings we hold towards each other."

Ignatz's eyebrows furrow as he stares in silence, completely stunned.

"I... don't mind...?" is all Ignatz says, because honestly, what the fuck.

* * *

"Oh, hey, it's Ignatz!" Claude notes to himself, unconsciously moving to wave at the other boy before realizing that Ignatz is emerging from the woods while holding someone's hand.

Claude has so many questions about that.


End file.
